Dems Suggest They Got Johnson To Commit To Hearing On Elon’s Treasury Break-In

Two Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) Thursday in what appears to be a public attempt to remind the speaker to act on some sort of in-person commitment he apparently made to the two Democratic members of the House Ways and Means Committee during a closed-door conversation Wednesday.

In the letter, which was shared with TPM, Reps. Judy Chu (D-CA) and Gwen Moore (D-WI) say that Johnson agreed to hold a House Ways and Means Committee hearing next week on Elon Musk and his DOGE coders’ access to the Treasury Department’s payment system.

Here’s the letter in full:

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to accommodate and hear our shared concerns about the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to the Department of the Treasury’s sensitive payment system. We appreciate your commitment to a hearing next week in the House Ways and Means Committee as reported yesterday in The Washington Times (article attached).

However, the Democratic Members on the Ways & Means Committee still are waiting to be notified of this hearing on DOGE’s access to Treasury’s sensitive payment system. We look forward to Treasury Secretary Bessent and the Head of DOGE, Mr. Elon Musk, appearing before the Committee next week and trust that the Office of the Speaker will work with the Committee to ensure they appear.

Both the Washington Times and Politico reported yesterday on what they described as a confrontation between Chu, Moore and Johnson. The Democrats reportedly entered the speaker’s office shortly after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived for a meeting with Johnson. Bessent was there to discuss tax policy-related items with Johnson and House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-MO).

Chu and Moore reportedly asked Johnson about Bessent gifting Musk and his DOGE bros unprecedented access to a sensitive payment system. Bessent has maintained that Musk and his cronies are restricted to “read only” access, but it’s unclear whether this term really captures what is going on: “read only” or not, TPM has reported that the DOGE guys (one of whom just resigned over past racist posts) have apparently been adding new code to the system.

Bessent was not in the room during their conversation with Johnson, Moore told reporters Wednesday.

“Gwen Moore forced her way in there, and then I got to go in right behind her,” Chu told reporters Wednesday. “And she was already confronting Speaker Johnson about Treasury Secretary Bessent and the stealing of Americans’ private information, tax information that should never be stolen and given to this billionaire Elon Musk.”

Per the Washington Times, Johnson made some sort of promise to hold a hearing on the matter in the coming week:

The Democratic lawmakers raised specific concerns about the potential misuse of sensitive taxpayer information, the level of access granted to Mr. Musk’s associates and their intended use of the information. In response, Speaker Johnson indicated that the House Ways and Means Committee would hold a hearing on the matter the following week.

(Confusingly, the Washington Times claims its article was written by AI but based in part on “original reporting.” So, grain of salt we guess? Regardless…)

Chu and Moore then cited the Times’ story in their letter to Johnson Thursday. But Johnson’s office has not yet publicly acknowledged any commitments made to the Dems. The logistical details on who exactly will be compelling Bessent and Musk to appear are also still unclear, as the ranking members don’t have subpoena power on the panel. House Oversight Committee Democrats did attempt to catch Republicans on the panel by surprise with a vote to subpoena Musk on Wednesday, but it failed.

TPM has reached out for additional information about Johnson’s reported commitment to a hearing and will update you when we learn more.